'A heck of a legacy.' Canton community activist 'Miss Ida' Ross-Freeman dies

CANTON − Ida Ross-Freeman, a longtime Canton community activist, social worker and civil rights advocate , has died.

She was 77.

Known in the Black community as "Miss Ida," she was one of the cofounders of the annual Canton Juneteenth celebration and the founding CEO of the Stark County Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Outreach Project.

Ross-Freeman also organized "welcome home" events for former felons upon their release from incarceration and started Project E.L.S.I.E. , Empowering Lives Support in Education, which sponsored marches and programs for nonviolence and candlelight vigils for people lost to violence.

She spoke out on behalf of minority nonprofits to get a more equitable share of public and private funding. She also was an entrepreneur, selling Afrocentric clothing, jewelry and gifts at local events.

"If you looked up the words 'community' and 'unity,' her picture would be there," said her youngest son, Errick Freeman. "My mother was a woman of the people. She was Angela Davis; she was Maya Angelou. She was all these powerful women."

Remembering Canton's Ida Ross-Freeman

Freeman, a professional artist , described his late mother as "the matriarch of the family." A native of Uniontown, Alabama, she was the eldest of six siblings. She leaves two sons, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A third son died in infancy.

Canton artist creates a "welcome": Canton artist creates multilingual mural to showcase diverse Shorb neighborhood

"She was very strong, very much involved in the community," her son said. "She fought for equality and unity and spaces for people of color. She also fought for the arts, which helped create spaces for me. She left a heck of a legacy."

Stark County NAACP President Hector McDaniel said Ross-Freeman was a strong and fearless advocate for the community she loved.

"Ida Ross-Freeman, believed and fought to represent Blackness, in all aspects of the community, civil and social," he said. "The echoing words of the late Congressman John Lewis, 'Good Trouble' are a fitting tribute to her legacy of advocacy, agitation, and action in the Canton community."

Mark Bigsbee, who works with the Greater Stark County Urban League, Stark County NAACP and Stark County Minority Business Association, recalled that Ross-Freeman worked on communitywide programming with his late mother, Mary, who worked at the Massillon Urban League.

"She was one of my mentors," he said. "I met Miss Ida, when I was kid, through my mom. Even though she was a very direct person, she really cared for her community, deeply. When she had a passion, she didn't waver. Every time you heard her, it was straight from the heart."

Bigsbee said Ross-Freeman gave him her full support when he became chair of the local Juneteenth.

"It saddens me because because this Juneteenth would have been her 25th and my 10th," he said. "I planned on doing something special for her. I know it was very important for her. For her to keep it going as long as she did was amazing. I'm glad I gave her her flowers. I was honored that she allowed me to take it to another level. It hurts me deeply to lose her."

He added that Ross-Freeman never hesitated to call him to inform him of events.

"Anything that happened in the community, I was one of her first calls," he said, laughing. "She was making sure I was in the know."

Canton City Schools board and more

In 2012, Ross-Freeman made history when she became one of three Black women to serve simultaneously on the Canton City Board of Education. She worked alongside Lisa Gissendaner and Nadine McIlwain-Massey for her one term.

"I will miss Miss Ida, grateful for the opportunity to serve with her," Gissendaner said. "She valued education and wanted to make sure that all of our students had opportunity and access to a great education. When we went through the rough patch at the start of our term, she always checked on me and was very supportive. She also kept me on my toes, sharing her story and her history of growing up in the Jim Crow era."

Gissendaner recently saw Ross-Freeman at the African American Arts Festival.

"Her love for this community, especially for our young people, is something that I always will remember and cherish. I admired her for standing up and speaking up — always," she said. "She will be missed. I'm glad that I had a chance to hug on her and tell her that I loved her. She was a champion for equality, justice and doing the right thing."

Funeral services will be held at noon Aug. 17 at Rhoden Memorial Home , 729 Cherry Ave. NE. Visitation will precede the service at 11 a.m.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com .

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: 'A heck of a legacy.' Canton community activist 'Miss Ida' Ross-Freeman dies